As any Doctor Who fan knows...

Art by Smuzz. Our purpose is to amuse, simply to amuse... Nothing serious, nothing political....

 

Adult comic Poot back on the stands

If you want a magazine that comes out with clockwork regularity but doesn't have many jokes, buy The Economist. If you want an irregularly-appearing magazine with jokes about flatulence, genitalia, going to the lavatory and other "grown-up" topics, buy Poot! 

Poot!, which enjoyed a lot of success (and good sales) when it was first published back in 1986 by a group of motley students at Birmingham University, went on hiatus in 1991. In 2009 the title was revived and, although finding the news stand a tough sell second time around, the team behind the title are really working hard to try and promote the revived title.

Jim Whittaker tells us Poot!, which has a similar format to Viz but is full colour throughout, is aimed at "students and young professionals" (who are predominantly male but the magazine does has 'approving' female appeal).

"We also sell a lot to mainstream mid-life crisis males," Jim says, "mainly travelling business men looking for something light to read on their train back home.

"Basically anyone who doesn't take life too seriously and likes a good giggle on the lavvy."

Contributors on recent editions include Alex Foulds,  John Randles, Royston Robertson and Phil Tonge and many others, although the list doesn't include the core team or the other three main guys involved. ("We're much too modest!" says Jim).


Like all humour titles, Poot! isn't going to appeal to everyone but it's clearly gained an audience and loyal following, boosted by the editorial team's social media push and full colour printing, which gives it huge potential. 


Jim tells us the title is always on the look out for new contributors. "About a third of Poot! comes from amateur cartoonists – and we try to pay every contributor something."

• Poot! Issue 7, priced £2.99, is available now  throughout the UK (including many WHSmith branches at stations and airports) and also in a few other countries if you look hard enough. Definitely not for minors

• Official web site: http://www.pootcomic.com
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/6321441187/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/pootcomic


• Contributors can upload here: www.pootcomic.com/contribute.html

The Really Heavy Greatcoat Review of the Year 2010

With everything else that we're up to, Nick Miller and I don't get the chance to do The Really Heavy Greatcoat comic very often. Its last regular appearance was in Comics International (we first devised the strip way back in the 1980s!). But Nick gamely comes up with an annual 'Greatcoat' , commenting on the past year, and this is his ace contribution for 2010...




• More 2010 eCards from creators I've worked with or plugged on downthetubes here on Flickr, including work by SMS, Sion Mackie, Paul McCaffrey and others.

Comic Creator Spotlight: Nick Miller's "Political Logic"

Lancaster-based cartoonist and downthetubes chum Nick Miller - co-creator of the long-running The Really Heavy Greatcoat, which most recently featured in the much-missd Comics International, came up with this strip in response to the current national political dilemma in the UK facing the Conservative leader, David Cameron.

Nick has illustrated everything from childrens' comics to graphic novels, advertising, childrens' book and greetings cards, and his work has appeared in the UK, US and Italy. Most recently, he's been working with partner Antonella Caputo, whose work first appeared in the Italian publication Il Giornalino, where she produced monthly episodes of Casa Montesi, a family drama. Since then she has written scripts for childrens' comics and magazines, a recipe column and short stories and plays for children, as well as graphic novelisations of works by H G Wells, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde. Her work has been published in Italy, the UK, US and Mexico.

• More work by Nick at: www.teamsputnik.co.uk/blog

Look Out! It's Pyook-In

Ace cartoonist Malcolm Kirk's been homaging Look-In again. Enjoy...


Snow Patrol Comic Strip by ~MalcolmKirk on deviantArt

Friday Fun: The New Iron Man

WebFind by Paul Eldridge: OK, we'd all thought of it, but look at the effort this Comic Con attendee went to!

• more daft costumes, including this one, here on this French web site

In Review: Wasted #2 - Back With Bite!

The second issue of Bad Press' adult humour anthology mag Wasted is on sale now, cranking up the quality several more notches on its launch issue with some terrific strips from a wide range of creators that include Alan Grant, Jon Haward, Martin Hayes, Adrian Bamforth, Jamie Grant, Frank Quitely, Alan Burrows and many others.

Wrapped in a stunning cover of demon teen Lusi Sulfura by Alan Kerr, this 70-page magazine is not for the lily-livered - crammed as it is with strips such as The Dirty Dog (toilet humour extreme from Grant, Quitely and John Wagner) and the brilliant Tales of the Buddha (from Grant and Haward, the Buddha partnered this issue with a very angry Jesus).

Alan Kerr's superb Lusi Sulfura - surely a character of Tank Girl and Nemi cult potential - a wonderful gem, as is Holmes Has It Large by Martin Hayes and Adrian Bamforth; and there's more gems in the form of Fun Guys (by Grant and Burrows, drawing in a much looser style than you'd expect from this line man-extraordinaire, and I liked it), The Dopranos, Space Cabby and tons of other strips.

Anthology titles - especially humour titles - are never going to score on every page, because there's no telling what will make any one person laugh out loud. But when even 'throwaway' strips like Rom McPherson's Amber Nectar raise a smile, the good outweighs the occasional dud.

With full colour throughout for a measly £3.25, Wasted eats rival titles like Viz - perhaps these days over reliant on a trusted formula for its continued success - for breakfast. Yes, there are some rough edges (not literally - it's not that dangerous), but for a second outing, Wasted #2 is another cracking read and well worth tracking down.

• Wasted is available from www.wastedcomic.com and selected newsagents and other outlets. "You can Try Before You Buy" by grabbing this still-available preview edition of the first issue

Going Dutch for Comics

Sandra de Haan, a comic artist from Rotterdam just found downthetubes and writes to let us know that given that the Netherlands is a small country, she's started translating her comics into English to try and reach more comic fans.

There's a collection of about 30 stories on her new blog here. (Click 'lees veder', 'read more' to read the stories).

Sandra, who also teaches comics in schools (there's inevitably a strip about her experiences!) trained at the Willem de Kooning Academy: her credits include work for magazines such as Viva, Psychology Magazine and others. She also includes book publishers among her clients, providing both carton and illustration work for a variety of clients.

The translated strips are fun, including this wonderful observation on the life of a freelancer, and a commentary on the state of the BBC.

Sandra kindly sent us one of her strips which you can enjoy below...

TOXIC Goes Star Trek

The latest issue of Egmont's TOXIC - out today - comes with free Green Alien Ears and an Outer-space Water Blaster, capitalising on the hype for the new Star Trek film. (We remember Spock having green blood, but not green ears, unless Kirk slapped him on the noggin in a cut scene...)

The magazine, one of the few kids titles on the UK news stand with at least some regular comic strip - in this issue, there's an all-new Team TOXIC adventure - The Return of Frankendrac - also includes a Star Trek preview, a Richard Hammond Blast Lab experiment, rates the top five dinosaurs in ITV's Primeval and challenges readers to a Monsters vs Aliens - Which Monster Are You? quiz.

We have heard on the grape vine that along with the arrival of Jamie Smart's Count von Poo strip, other changes are planned for the comic-magazine: more news when we get it...

• TOXIC web site: www.toxicmag.co.uk

GhostNet Comment

The Trouble with Twitter...

(With thanks to Ron Callari) You can catch SuperNews!, which this sketch is part of, on the CurrentTV website at this link: http://current.com/topics/76254232/supernews/new/0.htm

The Last Word on Watchmen?

• Cartoon by Mal Clark

'Watchmensch' Ships This Week

Rich Johnston and Simon Rohrmuller's Watchmensch -- a parody of a certain legendary graphic novel and recent blockbuster movie, as well as a trip through time to the beginnings of superhero comics -- ships Wednesday 18th March in the USA and Thursday 19th March in the UK.

Written by London-based comics gossip industry columnist Rich Johnston, drawn by newcomer Swedish artist Simon Rohrmuller and published by American publisher Brain Scan Comics, "Watchmensch" seeks to compare and contrast the legal wranglings over the recent movie, with the comics industry as a whole, from the creation of Superman in the 1930s to the present day.

Featuring a large half-naked blue man (modestly covered) as the omnipotent voice of business, 1700 Broadway Manhattan, a vengeful and Hassidic-attired Spottyman, the rockstar billionaire Ozyosbourne, the legal eagle Silk Taker and the cross-dressing Nite Nurse, the Watchmensch have to fight against a global conspiracy that threatens
the destruction of comics' creators rights.

"I laughed out loud at Watchmensch. Several times, in fact," says Watchmen co-creator and artist Dave Gibbons. Referring to the amended end of the Watchmen movie, he added "[Watchmensch's] climactic scene is more awesome than any squid!"

Shops stocking the comic can be found at www.watchmensch.com as well as art from the comic and reviews and interviews with the creative team.

We reviewed Watchmensch earlier in the year: it's a savage take on US comics, laced with a decent amount slice of humour and visual gags. Read our full review here

• Visit the Brain Scan Studios website for more information. For sample pages, a list of stockists and other info, visit the book's official web site: www.watchmensch.com

Saturday Morning Watchmen!

If Alan Moore is annoyed about the new Watchmen film, just wait until he sees this -- although, actually, this hilarious Saturday Morning Watchmen, the creation of British animator Harry Partridge, is the kind of parody he might just like...

Since it was first published on top Flash portal NewGrounds the film has been watched by over 143,00 people. "It was created for as a piece of work to be sold off to a certain company but I wanted to keep the rights to it, and I have done," Harry says, who admits to being "chilled" that over 100,00 people have heard him singing his 'Watchmen theme tune'. "Sometimes you gotta go with your gut.

"This combines two huge passions of mine, one being the comic genius that is Alan Moore and the other being kids programming from the late 1980s which I would say is my biggest animation inspiration.

"Believe it or not, one of the first ever things I ever animated/programmed was a crappy side scrolling Rorschach game where you go around beating up street punks. It was not only a f****** awful game but totally and unironically misinterpreted the source material. I would like to think I've grown somewhat since then but here I am, five years later, doing exactly the same thing! Perhaps just a bit more knowingly..."

• You'll find more of Harry's work here

Some 500,000 unique visitors visit the Newgrounds site.

Kez and Luke Collected

Recently arrived at the downthetubes lair is a copy of The Adventures of Kez and Luke by TOXIC Comic sub-editor Luke Paton, a collection of strips published first published online.

The drawings comprise simple stick figures throughout but there's some nicely observed relationship humour that gives an added and funy dynamic to the whole. The difference between the sexes is rarely so dramatically revealed, as a quick visit to the web site for a taster will hopefully confirm.

Copies of the indie-published print edition can be bought from www.theadventuresofkezandluke.com (click the store link) and cost £2.99 with free p+ p.

In Review: Watchmensch

Out in early March, Lying in the Gutters' Rich Johnston's Watchmensch, a parody of a certain major DC Comics-published comic series, soon to be a major movie (at least that's what a lot of film people and DC Comics are hoping) is a deliciously wicked attack on the US comics industry and its long-held attitudes to creators' rights.

In Watchmensch, after one of them is murdered, a team of lawyers who have had dealings with the comics industry must band together again against a conspiracy. But who is trying to kill Nite Nurse, Spottyman, Silk, 1700 Broadway Manhattan and Ozzyosbourne? And what is the cloned creature about to be dropped on New York City?

With a barbed script dripping with the kind of knowledgeable in-jokes you'd expect from the man who writes the comic industry's longest-running gossip column, with splendid Dave Gibbons-parodying art from Simon Rohrmuller, Watchmensch offers a savage take on US comics, laced with a decent amount slice of humour and visual gags.

Alongside the story, however, Watchmensch holds up a mirror to the chequerd history of US comics publishing when it comes to creators' rights and what's refelcted isn't very pretty. While things have slowly changed down the years, there's still a long way to go before many comic artists, writers and other contributors to a successful comic can honestly say they have secured a good deal for their work, in comparison with book authors and other creatives.

Accompaying the comic is a short essay on the history of Alan Moore's experience of working with both DC Comics and creator rights in general which makes for some sobering reading. Try and track down a copy if you can.

• Comprising 24 pages B+W with full color covers, to order Watchmensch from your local comic shop see Diamond Previews Order #: JAN094081ISBN: 9780615234182

• Watchmensch will be available in comic shops everywhere in March 2009. Visit the Brain Scan Studios website for more information. For sample pages, a list of stockists and other info, visit the book's official web site: www.watchmensch.com

Watching the Watchmensch

Lying in the Gutters' Rich Johnston's parody of -- well, you can guess from the cover -- is to be be published by Brain Scan Studios, an alternative media company based out of Boston in the US that publishes a variety of blogs and creator-owned comics.

In Watchmensch, after one of them is murdered, a team of lawyers who have had dealings with the comics industry must band together again against a conspiracy. But who is trying to kill Nite Nurse, Spottyman, Silk, 1700 Broadway Manhattan and Ozzyosbourne? And what is the cloned creature about to be dropped on New York City?

"It’s a little parody comic by myself and Simon Rohrmuller," explains Rich of the nine-panel-grid parody of comics, the comics industry, the movies they spawn and the creators that get trampled on. The story by the writer, not just of one of comics most well-connected gosspip columns but also of titles such as The Flying Friar and Civil Wardrobe, reveals the story stretches back to the signing of the contract for Superman in the 1930s.

"As with any small press comic, the likelihood of your local retailer stocking the book for you to pick it up off the shelf is slimmer than with, say X-Men,' Johnston notes in his latest LTG column. "So if you would like a copy, please tell your retailer this week, while they are preparing orders for March."

• Comprising 24 pages B+W with full color covers, to order Watchmensch from your local comic shop see Diamond Previews Order #: JAN094081ISBN: 9780615234182

• Watchmensch will be available in comic shops everywhere in March 2009. Visit the Brain Scan Studios website for more information. For sample pages, a list of stockists and other info, visit the book's official web site: www.watchmensch.com

Mike Battle: Stirred, Not Shaken!

For years Sgt Mike Battle, the creation of artist-writer Graham Pearce, has been defending America (and sometimes her allies) from harm... but in his latest adventure he has to call in some help in the form of a certain British Secret Agent to thwart enemies of democracy.

Issue #12 of the popular Indie comic Sgt Mike Battle: The Greatest American Hero! “reprints” the titular hero’s adventures in the 1960s when he was an Agent of STARS AND STRIPES. The big difference this time is that the communist threat is so deadly that he has to team up with the suave spy Roger Knightly to save the world.

“Yes, Roger Knightly is a suave British Secret but he isn’t James Bond” explains writer/artist Graham Pearce. “Roger has drunk more martinis, killed more bad guys, blown up more underground bases and swept more women off their feet than James Bond. There aren’t many people that Sgt Mike Battle looks up to -- but Roger is one of them”.

Pearce explains that the latest issue isn’t just a Sgt Mike Battle/James Bond crossover. “There’s much more going on but I can’t say too much without ruining the end. I’ve only been playing up on the James Bond angle because the book came out the same time as Quantum of Solace”.

While it would appear that Pearce, a self-confessed walking James Bond encyclopaedia, is only spoofing Ian Fleming's Secret Agent, Pearce explains the main influence on the latest issue. “It’s all inspired by Jim Steranko’s Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comics! They are some of the most visually stunning books I have ever read and I still can’t believe they are over 40 years old. They are so unique and so iconic that I simply had to try and do my own version of them.

"Also, it makes sense because Mike Battle was originally a parody of the World War 2 version of Nick Fury so it was inevitable that I would also do some stories about him working for a 1960s covert intelligence agency with a ridiculous acronym”.

Whereas most of the previous issues of SMB:GAH have been self-contained, issue #12 is slightly different. “Yes, elements of the story do continue into #13 but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy #12 on its own," says Pearce. "It can be read a single story, albeit a story where the characters have another adventure in the next issue. I also make each issue so that you don’t need to have read the previous ones to understand what is going on. Every issue is the prefect jumping on point.

Pearce is known for playing around with and subverting comic clichés in SMB:GAH and issue #12 is no exception. “If anything I go a bit overboard. There are some many elements of James Bond and Nick Fury to play around with that is was a struggle to get them all in. The obvious ones are things like the Bond girls, gadgets, the S.H.I.E.L.D. heli-carrier, Life Model Decoys and lots of ridiculous acronyms. They're all in there -- and there are even a few other references to other comics that will amuse readers.
• SGT. MIKE BATTLE: THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO! #ISSUE 12, 36 PAGES, Colour cover, b/w interiors, £1.50, available now from www.sgtmikebattle.co.uk or grahampearce8@netscape.net

Sock Puppets at Christmas...

The Sock Puppet Theatre, scourge* of many a British comics event is counting down the Christmas with The Socks' Advent Calendar, a wee musical treat! Eat your heart out Aled & Terry. And Bing and David...

Comic creator tells us you can see the Socks performing/murdering songs such as Rolf Harris' Two Little Boys live every night in Edinburgh; they're currently performing every night in the Spiegeltent in Princes St Gardens. Book tickets now at: www.gildedballoon.co.uk/wwonderland/shows.php



* Oh OK, they're not really a scourge. You can see more of their videos at myspace.com/scottishfalsetto

Stick-Man's Christmas Adventure

Courtesy of Scottish cartoonist Malcolm Kirk, whose hilarious Stick Man discovers Santa has gone a bit, well, strange this year...



Check out www.myspace.com/mal_comix for more of Mal's work, and there are more of his Stick Man cartoons here on ROK Comics.